"[P]rivate-equity firms -- given the dearth of cheap bank financing and opportunities in the established U.S. and European markets -- have turned their eyes to the so-called BRIC countries, Brazil, Russia, India and China."
"So we need the creation of new businesses. Well, why aren’t they forming? After all, 10% of us are out of work. Isn’t that when new businesses form?"
"Big Brother vs. The Banks. President Barack Obama’s administration’s proposed new rules for banks and the potential impact on private equity make the carried interest tax debate seem almost quaint by comparison."
"Eastern European private equity firm BaltCap has signed an agreement with the European Investment Fund to establish a €30m venture capital fund.
BaltCap Latvia is the first venture capital fund manager to successfully complete private fundraising under EIF managed JEREMIE initiatives in Europe."
"Venture-capital funding for startup companies stabilized in the fourth quarter, with investor interest shifting toward drug development and away from clean energy....
Biotech was the largest industry for the quarter."
"ScienceDaily (Jan. 19, 2010) — A collaborative research project has brought the world a step closer to producing a new material on which future nanotechnology could be based. Researchers across Europe, including the UK's National Physical Laboratory (NPL), have demonstrated how an incredible material, graphene, could hold the key to the future of high-speed electronics, such as micro-chips and touchscreen technology....Read the full article here on this breakthrough development in electronics.
Graphene is a relatively new form of carbon made up of a single layer of atoms arranged in a honeycomb shaped lattice. Despite being one atom thick and chemically simple, graphene's is extremely strong and highly conductive, making it ideal for high-speed electronics, photonics and beyond.
Graphene is a strong candidate to replace semiconductor chips. Moore's Law observes that the density of transistors on an integrated circuit doubles every two years, but silicon and other existing transistor materials are thought to be close to the minimum size where they can remain effective. Graphene transistors can potentially run at faster speeds and cope with higher temperatures. Graphene could be the solution to ensuring computing technology to continue to grow in power whilst shrinking in size, extending the life of Moore's law by many years."
"A new report from Lux Research shows that while overall nanotechnology venture capital (VC) spending was down in 2009, investment in nano-driven healthcare and life sciences increased by 42 percent last year."
"Last year the world had 1,125 billionaires. Today there are 793. How $1.4 trillion vanished."
